Sports Offered
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BASEBALL:Students from grades 9- 12 are eligible to play on Mystic Valley's baseball team. The team plays home games at South Broadway
Mystic Valley Senior Joe Vaverka and Sophomore Joe Foley were both recently named to the Commonwealth Athletic Conference All Star team.
Joe Vaverka led the team in four separate offensive categories. He had a .348 batting average, 23 hits, 18 runs scored (tied with Foley) and 19 RBIs. He also had a triple and 2 homeruns. In addition to being a force at the plate, he had 3 wins on the mound. Coach Chris Bauer said that “Joe Vaverka did a great job of providing leadership as a senior captain. He showed up every day ready to work hard and improve. Joe leads by example and did a great job of showing our young team how to do things right both on and off of the field.”
Joe Foley had a .306 batting average, 18 runs scored (tied for team lead), 5 doubles, 4 HR's (led team), and 15 RBI's. Foley also led the team in strikeouts as a pitcher with 36 K's in 35 innings of work. “Joe Foley has a ton of potential and needs to keep working at it. He had a great year at the plate. Joe will be expected to take on more of a leadership role over the next two years and help take the program to the next level.” said coach Bauer.
BASKETBALL: Down by three with time rapidly running out on the Mystic Valley Eagles, guard Gina Pedro stepped up and nailed a clutch three pointer tying up the first round MIAA Tournament game against Mount St. Josephs with just 6 seconds left to play. Mount St. Joseph’s had time to respond but Pedro and freshman guard Jordan Sullivan teamed up to force a Mount St. Joseph turnover at half court. As Pedro raced down court to the hoop she spotted LJ Jackson underneath the basket and fed her a pass that LJ immediately caught and shot into the hoop for the winning basket as the crowd and the Mystic Valley players screamed in delight. Unfortunately for Mystic Valley, time ran out just before Jackson could get the shot off and the referee, correctly, ruled that the basket didn’t count sending the battle between the Eagles of Mount St. Joseph and the Eagles of Mystic Valley into overtime.
The game was a tight defensive battle right from the outset. Both teams played a very strong and aggressive defense that made every trip down court difficult for the offenses. Mt. St. Joseph’s jumped out to an early 7-1 lead as Mystic Valley didn’t score a field goal until the 3:11 mark of the first quarter. Mystic Valley got right back into the game and was able to cut the lead to 11-9 at the end of the first quarter.
Mystic Valley took the lead in the second quarter thanks to scrappy defense led by Carolyn Bissex who grabbed several rebounds and loose balls and inside scoring from LJ Jackson.
Gina Bernadeau stepped up in a big way for Mystic Valley in the third quarter scoring half of the team’s ten points as well as being a powerful force on the boards. Mystic Valley led 32 -29 after three quarters. In what would become a recurring theme for the night, the only thing keeping Mount St. Joseph’s in the game was incredible three point shooting. It seemed like they couldn’t score layups due to Mystic Valley’s tight defense but every three pointer they shot seemed to go in.
The game stayed as tight as a drum throughout the fourth quarter. Mount St. Joseph continued to hit threes when they were needed most and Gina Pedro had a huge fourth quarter scoring 12 of her game high 23 points including the three pointer that pushed the game into overtime.
Defensive intensity ruled the overtime period. Only two field goals were made in the entire overtime period, a two pointer by Gina Pedro and yet another three pointer by Mount St. Josephs. Neither team would allow the other to get any good shots off. In the end Mount St. Joseph’s was able to hit several late free throws and escape with a 59 – 54 win.
Mystic Valley played a very tough game on defense. Cailyn Chiccuarelli, Carolyn Bissex, LJ Jackson, Gina Bernadeau and Meghan Holden effectively pushed Mount St. Josephs’ offense away from the basket all night. Gina Pedro was a force on both sides of the ball particularly on offense as she led all scorers with 23 points and ran the Eagles’ offense. She was followed on offense by LJ Jackson who had eleven points, Meghan Holden and Gina Bernadeau who each had seven, Jordan Sullivan who came off the bench to score four and Carolyn Bissex who had two.
Although disappointed in the result, Coach Katelyn Leonard was very proud of her team’s effort. "Mt. St. Joseph's two scorers combining for 9 three-pointers was just a dagger for us...if two or three of those are two-pointers or stops, it's most likely a different ending. But our girls played their hearts out and left everything on the court and I'm so proud of that. For us to force overtime after being down 5 points with less than a minute seemed impossible, but this team never gives up and always believes they can win and that's really all you can ask for as a coach."
Mystic Valley has a Boy's Varsity and Sub-Varsity team and both a Varsity and Sub-Varsity Girl's team. The school also competes at the Middle School level. Mystic Valley home games are played at the former Immaculate Conception School, 59 School Street, Everett.
CHEERLEADING:The Mystic Valley Cheerleading squad provides an enthusiastic spark to
The Mystic Valley Cheerleading squad finished in first place in their division in a competition held lat St. Mary’s in Lynn. The competition featured schools from throughout the area and from the Commonwealth Athletic Conference in particular. By finishing first in the division the girls qualified for the 2009 Regional State Tournament.This is the first time in school history that the cheerleading team qualified for the Regional state Tournament. In addition to winning their division the team won the Commonwealth Athletic Conference Congeniality Trophy.
After the competition Athletic Director Peter Connolly said “with the commitment and dedication to Coach McWilliams and Coach Gregorio the girls worked really hard this 2009 season. I am extremely proud of the team. Each member of the team spent countless hours working hard this season and this looks like a catalyst for the years to come. Mystic Valley is now on the map in cheerleading and will continue to grow in the coming years. Congratulations Girls”.
Coach Traci McWilliams was very happy with the results and the girls’ performance. Their routine is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds long. In that short period of time they perform all sorts of flips, jumps and stunts to the beat of several different songs. “They really looked amazing” said the proud coach McWilliams.
CREW:
The effort and dedication of the rowers is evidenced by the tent city that sprouts up at every meet. Made up of friends and family of the rowers the fans bring out their best barbeque and make a days activity out of the event that is a combination crew meet and tailgate party. Each school that competes has its own tent and the area around the race site can at times resemble Gillette Stadium on a fall Sunday afternoon.
Spots on the crew team are open to boys and girls in grades 7-12.
CROSS-COUNTRY:Both boys and girls compete in the school’s successful cross-country program. Three members of the 2009 Mystic Valley Cross Country team were named to the Commonwealth Athletic Conference All Star team. “The runners selected were Patrick Kinnon, Emily Moran and Fallon Bushee. “The selected all stars worked very hard throughout the year and deserve to be recognized. They did a great job during both practice and meets and have bright futures ahead of them. Knowing this group, they are never completely satisfied and will continue to push themselves and improve for next year” said Coach Chris Bauer. He went on to add “these individuals, as well as all of the team members, worked extremely hard throughout the year and deserve this recognition. This year’s team was a talented and committed group who I look forward to working with in the years ahead”.
The individual recognition was just a part of the team’s overall success. The boys’ team was the Commonwealth Athletic Conference Champion for the third year in a row.
Fallon Bushee received the Commonwealth Athletic Conference Girls Cross Country MVP Award. The award capped off a very strong season for Fallon who trained very hard and finished every race among the top runners.
Members of the girls cross country team after a rain soked race in the States
FOOTBALL:Mystic Valley football finished the 2009 season with a three game win streak powered by the running of Alex Arredondo who had eight touchdowns in the final three games. The team finished the season with a record of 4-6 which is the best in school history.
Four players from the squad were named to the Commonwealth Athletic Conference all star team: seniors Bobby Brown and Stanley Marsan and Juniors Aaron Payne and Alex Arredondo.
The highlight of the season was the team's first ever win on Thanksgiving morning:
The Eagles scored 28 points in the second half to beat Minuteman by a score of 28 - 10. Smiles abounded all around as head coach Rollie Hinckley was doused with a bucket of Gatorade and the victorious Eagle team, including cheerleaders and dozens of student fans, rushed the field at the end of the game.
The final score was not indicative of how the game was played. The first half was a tough back and forth battle dominated by strong defensive play and miscues on special teams by both squads. At the end of the first quarter the teams were each scoreless, at the half the score was 2-0 Minuteman.
Things took a turn for the better for the Eagles as soon as the third quarter started when Brendan Hogan picked up the Minuteman kickoff at the 2 yard line, found a huge hole created by the Eagles’ special team blocking and rumbled down the sideline to the Minuteman 3 yard line where he was knocked out of bounds. The return set up an Alex Arredondo two yard touchdown run behind clearing blocks from Aaron Payne and Klysman Afonso.
The score remained 6-2 until the Mystic Valley defense forced Minuteman to punt from their own end zone. The punter got off a great kick that was caught by Eric Natale at mid-field. Natale proceeded to slice through the coverage before breaking free to sprint into the end zone. The play was followed by a two point conversion pass from Mike Pascal to Stanley Marsan which made the score 14-2 Eagles.
At the 8:18 mark of the final quarter Minuteman closed the gap to 14-10 on a two yard touchdown run and a successful run in for the extra two points closing out their best drive of the day.
That was as close as they would get as Mystic Valley dominated the rest of the way. First Robby DeSantis recovered a Minuteman onsides kick attempt giving the Eagles excellent field position. They wasted no time taking advantage as Mike Pascal broke free on a quarterback keeper and raced down the right sideline for a 49 yard touchdown run. A pitch-out to Brendan Hogan worked for the conversion.
The Eagles’ defense held Minuteman on their next possession. The defense had a great game led by Stanley Marsan who had a fumble recovery, a couple of big sacks and several tackles on the day and was named the game MVP. Bobby Brown, Alex Arredondo and Eric Natale each made stellar plays on defense.
When the Eagles got the ball back, Alex Arredondo bolted for a 29 yard touchdown run that sealed the win for the Eagles. The touchdown capped an amazing run for Arredondo who scored 8 touchdowns in the Eagles’ final three games to lead the team to a three game season ending winning streak.
Once Arredondo scored it was time for Aaron Payne to begin looking for the bucket of Gatorade to dump on Coach Hinckley and for the fans to start thinking of dinner after a very satisfying win.
HOCKEY: Mystic Valley hockey wrapped up its home schedule Feb. 13 by honoring the senior players and their parents. In a pre-game ceremony, as each senior and his parents were announced, his parents walked on to the ice and the senior presented his mother with flowers. The Mystic Valley seniors and their parents are: forward Kirk Toomajian and his parents Marlena and Charlie; defenseman Max Horton and his parents Lynne and Gary; forward Bobby Brown and his parents Theresa and Fran; and goalie Anthony Genualdo and his parents Louise and Phil.
Mystic Valley also "passed the hat" and raised $127 for the scholarship fund in memory of Pentucket senior hockey player Matt McCarthy who died at a December practice.
The Eagles hung tight with Latin Academy through the first period, trailing 1-0, before the Dragons completely took over for an 8-1 victory. Despite the score, Genualdo was strong in goal making 38 saves. Evan Dolber accounted for the lone Mystic Valley goal with assists going to Brennan Bushee and Chino Bonet. Freshman forward Kyle Hanson played well in his first game back since breaking his ankle on December 26th.
Earlier in the week, Mystic Valley dropped a tough 7-4 decision to Lowell Catholic. The Eagles spotted Lowell Catholic a 5-1 lead before a furious rally fell short.
Bonet scored with assists from Bushee and his brother Michael Bonet four and a half minutes into the first period to pull Mystic Valley within one at 2-1. Lowell Catholic scored three unanswered goals in a three-minute span before the Eagles came back.
Defenseman Brandon Kelso gave Mystic Valley some life with a tally with 1:47 to play in the first with an assist from Chino Bonet to make it 5-2.
Mystic Valley dominated the second period, scoring two goals to get within one again at 5-4, and almost scored more. Kirk Toomajian netted the first from Nick Krasco and Dolber before Krasco added his own unassisted goal.
Mystic Valley didn't have the same charge in the third period. Lowell Catholic scored midway through the third and then added an empty-net goal.
The Eagles wrapped up their first varsity season with a 7-2 loss at Nashoba Tech on Feb. 17.
Mystic Valley started the third period trailing 3-1, the goal coming on a Kyle Finch slap shot. The Eagles were on a four-minute power-play to begin the period and then a second minor gave Mystic Valley a 5-on-3 advantage. Just as play was restored to 5-on-4, Krasco cashed in with an assist to Toomajian to make it 3-2. With more than a minute of power-play time remaining because of a major penalty, Mystic Valley called timeout to rest its first power-play unit and send them back on the ice. But just over a minute later, Nashoba Tech scored its second shorthanded goal of the game to push its lead to 4-2 and from there the Vikings took over scoring four unanswered goals in all.
Mystic Valley Hockey Players Named All-stars
LACROSSE: Mystic Valley junior Taylor was named the Commonwealth Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year. Roseen helped lead the Eagles to a 14-4 season in the team’s second year playing at the varsity level.
Taylor had 74 total points on the year scoring 53 goals and adding 21 assists. He set the Mystic Valley record for goals in a game with 9 against Nashoba Tech. He holds the school record for points in a game with 10 (9 goals and 1 assist). He shares that record with Jim Rossi who had 3 goals and 7 assists in the same game. Taylor scored at least one point in each of the 16 games he played this year for an average of 4.6 points per game. He raised his production from 41 points in 2009 to 74 points in 2010.
“Taylor is a dedicated and gifted attackman. He has great hands and a deadly accurate shot. He is an extremely coachable young man who is constantly trying to improve his game. He is part of a very productive attack unit who will all be back for their senior years next season” said coach Marty Horkan who is obviously happy that he will be back on the field next year.
SOCCER (Boys): 2009 was the first year that boys soccer was played at Mystic Valley. The team competed at the sub-varsity level and posted an impressive 5-1 record. The juniors on the squad, knowing this might be their last year of eligibility since the program is sub-varsity played their hearts out on the field all season long. Jeffrey Yee locked in on defense. Sean Hooley, who had his first year of playing soccer kept his starting right backer position the entire season, making up for his lack of experience with his heart and hustle. Krithiknath Tirupapuliyur was a jack of all trades. He was consistently reliable anywhere he played on the field and always played hard. Derek Lee and Calvin Huynh both played very well, making very smart plays and creating several fast breaks throughout the season. Jean Carlos Giraldo, who had to start the season a little late, made up for it and played the last game like his life depended on it, making several great defensive stops and creating several opportunities for the offense.
The rest of the team should not be left without compliments. Sophomore keeper Ryan Keane earned two shutouts during the short season. He played his position very well throughout the season. Eighth grader Joseph Dailey earned the starting position of stopper after showing tremendous improvement over the last two weeks of practice. Tomás Drahos, Dino Bulic, Yosof Abuhasan, Hari Perisic, Benjamin Soper were all very important to the team’s success this year. They made great connections, assists, and goals throughout. They controlled the ball and all stepped up to the improvements the coaches asked them to make. Alvin Buyinza, Joseph Swain, Brian Yee, Sai Yarram although being the younger players on the team all showed huge improvements and Mystic Valley is lucky to have them all for the next several years.
This inaugural season was a huge success. Both Coach Carlos Luis Brown and Coach Sam Shoutis and expressed how immeasurably proud they are of these players and cannot wait for next year’s season to roll around again.
Season highlights include senior captain Jade Lovett recording the school’s first ever hat-trick by a varsity soccer player in the opening match of the season. The team got off to a solid start, winning four of their first five matches. The goal scoring load was shared all season, a total of ten players found the net at some point during the sixteen games. Lovett led the team and hit double figures in the goal scoring charts. Significant goal scoring contributions were made by Katarina DiPlacido, Melissa Desmond, Mandy Ellis and Joanna McPherson. The defense was anchored by juniors Helena Whitlow, Samantha Childs & Stephanie Lin. Team members Kyrstiana Dimaro, Vanessa Barrientos, Katherine McPherson & Amanda Kerner helped make the Eagles a tough team to break down. Senior captain Meghan Holden excelled both in the net and on the field as a defensive midfielder. Freshman Jackie Lane had a very impressive debut season, constantly transitioning from goal to midfield with great ease. Lane scored twice when Mystic Valley beat league rival Chelsea High by a score of 3-2 in the most thrilling contest of the season.
Throughout a very challenging season the midfield play filtered through junior Joanna McPherson who had an exceptional year, recording career highs in goals and assists. Sophomores Corinne Kelly and Ariana Mirzakashani provided invaluable experience to the the young team. Alex Cimetti, Elise Sheehan and Chadam Pires made significant contributions when called upon during their first varsity season. Memorable wins included Presentation of Mary, Minuteman, Chelsea and Lynn Tech all away from home. Mystic Valley recorded wins against two teams that defeated them last season and were far more competitive against the higher division schools.
SOFTBALL:
SWIMMING: Dynasty was the word of the day in 2004 when the New England Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years. The 2010 Mystic Valley Regional Charter School swim team did the Patriots one better by following up their undefeated season with a resounding win in the Commonwealth Athletic Conference Championship Meet. The Eagles gained the “threepeat” winning the meet by more than three hundred points!
The team dominated the meet from day one and never looked back. The meet opened on Wednesday with Robby DeSantis winning the boys 500 yard freestyle. Mystic Valley’s swimmers finished first (Alyssa Savarino), second (Fallon Bushee), third (Allie Krasco) and fifth (Emily Williams) in the girls 500 yard freestyle. Savarino’s time qualified her for the post season tournament.
The second day of competition started right where the first left off. The boys’ 200 yard medley relay was the first race of the meet. Shane Kinnon got off to a great start getting a lead that the team would not let go. As they switched swimmers from Shane to his brother Colin to their cousin Patrick Kinnon the lead got wider and wider until Zach Kelso finished the race. By then the only question was whether he would lap one of the other swimmers. The boys were done with the race for nearly 20 seconds before the next swimmer touched the edge.
The girls’ medley was next and led to the same result. Allie Krasco started off with a strong backstroke followed by Marissa Cagno who edged Mystic Valley into a two swimmer length lead. Sophia Elmoussaoui maintained the lead for Kelly Finn who swam a powerful anchor lap holding off a charge from Shawsheen’s swimmer.
The boys’ 200 yard freestyle was dominated by Zach Kelso and Robby DeSantis of Mystic Valley who were in a race of their own significantly ahead of the rest of the pack. Kelso finished three seconds ahead of DeSantis and 17 seconds before anyone else.
The girls 200 yard freestyle was another Mystic Valley dominated event. Alyssa Savarino and Fallon Bushee were well ahead of all other swimmers for the entire race. Savarino appeared to glide across the water with an apparently effortless stroke that led her to an easy first place finish which qualified her for the post season individual tournaments.
The closest race of the day was in the boys’ individual 200 yard medley. Brothers Shane and Colin Kinnon swam neck and neck throughout the race until Shane eventually won by a fingertip holding off a ferocious charge from his brother.
Later in the day, Patrick Kinnon set a team record with a 1:02 time in the 100 yard breaststroke. Looking at the time, one observer commented that he may be able to break the elusive 1:00 barrier next season.
Speaking of next season and dynasties … the team is only losing two seniors to graduation.
2010 Commonwealth Athletic Conference Championship Meet Statistics and First Place Finishes
Swim Team Completes Perfect Season
TRACK & FIELD: In the spring of 2009 Mystic Valley built upon the successes of the 2008 season. The team had a number of impressive performances throughout the season. All students in grades 9-12 are eligible for the Track and Field team.
VOLLEYBALL: The volleyball team had only won two games in the last three years but took the league by storm in 2009 with a very strong team featuring players that forged a bond with each other during the down years and made it to the state tournament for the first time in school history. The team was led by Carolyn Bissex, Shaynice Dorcena and LJ Jackson who had outstanding seasons for the Eagles.
